St Mark's Anglican Church

Statement of Significance

Representativeness, Aesthetic, Rarity, Social and Historic

Physical Description

· Building is located 700 metres off the Wheatley Coast road along
a winding bush track;
· Rectangular, one roomed building;
· Soft clay bricks;
· English bond construction;
· Steeply pitched roof;
· Zincalume roof over jarrah shingles;
· Fireplace and chimney at one end;
· Interior walls plastered;
· Jarrah floor;
· Timber window frames;
· Timber framed entry porch;
· Arched entrance opening;
· Painted weatherboard cladding and zincalume roof;
· Evidence of severe cracking and repairs to building;
· 30 metres south of building is a timber lined well with large
flitches of timber for a well cover, and;
· Two rail split rail fence around the church.

History

The old Upper Warren School, now St Marks Anglican Church, is a
memorial to the pioneers who settled in a community on the Warren
River just north of the Karri forest. The earliest Upper Warren Settlers,
Arthur Clarke, Walter Blechynden, John Mottram (Rockbridge) and Peter
Wheatley (Clover Cottage) arranged with a ticket-of-leave builder, Jack
Haines (Haynes), to erect a school at a site midway from the farms so
that the children would have only about 2 miles to walk or ride. A plaque
on the building indicates that the building was constructed in 1883, while
the Heritage Council Assessment of 2001 quotes 1891 as the construction
date. The building was also intended to serve as a church and social
centre for the district.
Clay for the bricks was found near the school site and bricks were made
there and then carted by bullock dray to the school site, as were stones
for the foundations of the building. The timber required was pit sawn
nearby and jarrah shingles for the roof were split in the adjoining bush.
The cost of all materials and the labour was shared between the families.
A well was sunk at a short distance from the building with two timber
slabs as a cover.
The school was opened on 1 July 1891 with Kate Logue as
schoolmistress, and an enrolment of four boys and 14 girls. The cost of
the teacher’s salary was shared among the children’s parents, and each of
the four families boarded the teacher for three months at a time.
From the outset, the place served as both school and church, and the first
wedding was celebrated there on 14 September 1891, when the Reverend
J Brand married Charles Simpson and Emily Reeve, both of Deeside.
The place continued to serve as both school and church until the 1920s
when a new school was build and use of the place for that purpose
ceased. The school desks were converted to pews by removal of the
desktops and remained in use at the place.
In 1929 the place was dedicated as a church, St Mark’s Anglican Church,
Upper Warren. In 1955 various works were carried out , including replastering
and painting of the internal walls, and fitting of a new
corrugated iron roof, leaving the original shingles beneath. St Thomas
Church at Dingup donated the altar as a gift to celebrate the consecration
of the church in 1955. New curtains were made for the altar and the
organ was donated by Stan Parsons, a descendant of the Wheatley family.
The building serves as a church until the mid 1980s when regular church
services at the place ceased.
In 1986 a Historic Day was held, which was attended by many residents
and past residents of the district. Various repair works were carried out.
In September 1987 the place was classified by the National Trust and in
September 1992 the place was placed on the Interim Register of the State
Register of Heritage Places. In 1993 repairs and maintenance were
carried out including a replacement corrugated iron roof, which left the
shingles intact beneath the new roof. A ‘Back to Warren’ day was
subsequently held at the place.
In February 1994 a Memorial was registered on the place under the
Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990. In 1997 the place was included
in the Shire of Manjimup’s Municipal Heritage Inventory.
In 2001 the place was maintained as far as possible by the Church
Trustees. The original lectern Pews, organ and other furniture remain at
the place. The place is valued by the local residents as a significant part
of the history of the district and continues to be used on an occasional
basis.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Good
Authenticity: Good

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.